Italianate Second Empire style office building, originally 6 stories and named Bryant Block after the destroyed building it replaced • designed by Wheelock & Thomas, 79 Dearborn St., Chicago: Otis Leonard Wheelock (1816-1893) and Montreal British-Canadian Cyrus P. Thomas • like Thomas, Wheelock moved to Chicago shortly after 1871 Great Chicago Fire • Wheelock, whose prefab "American Farmer's Cottage" won silver medal at 1867 Champ de Mars Paris Exposition Universelle, previously practiced in Watertown, NY during building boom precipitated by Great Fire of 1849 • even bigger construction boom followed Chicago Fire: >300 buildings under construction 6 mos. after disaster oldest standing building in the Loop • 3 bays removed from Randolph St. facade, atrium and two stories added, 1889 • addition designed by Julius Huber • pre-cast concrete panels on outside of original building, 2-story addition faced with sheet metal to resemble original facade below • rehabilitated, 1982 • designated Chicago Landmark, 1983, National Register #74000749, 1974 • Wikipedia
